Channel-cutting and flap-turning attachment for sewing-machines



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. E JOHNSON 82; 0. II, PORTER. GHANNEL CUTTING ANDFLA]? TURNING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

N0. 444,89 Patented-Jan. 20,1891.

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CHANNEL CUTTING AND FLAP TURNING ATTACHMENT 'FOR SEWING MAUHINES'.

No. 444,895. Patented JaJIL ZO 1891.

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NITED STATES 1 ATENT FFlCE...

ALBERT E. JOHNSON AND CYRUS H. PORTER, OF BROOKTON, MASSAOHUgETTS.

CHANNEL-CUTTING AND FLAP-TURNING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,895, dated January20, 1891.

Application filed May 22, 1890. Serial No. 352,700. (No model.)

To 60% whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT E. JOHNSON and CYRUS H. PORTER, both ofBrockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented, jointly, a new and useful OhanneLCutting and Flap-TurningAttachment for Sewing-Machines, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Our invention relates to machines for channeling boot or shoe soles orother leather stock for the reception of a line of stitching; and itconsists in the combination, with the stitch-forming and work-feedingmechanisms of a sewing-machine, of a channel-cutter and flap-turnerconstructed and arranged to operate upon the sole or other article beingsewed just in advance of the needle and awl and cut a section of anincision beneath aportion of the stock and raise and turn back the flapthus formed during the formation of each stitch of the line of sewing.

It further consists in certain novel features of construction,arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be readily understoodby reference to the description of the drawings, and to the claimshereinafter given.

Figure l of the drawings is a side elevation of so much of asewing-machine as is necessary to illustrate our invention. Fig. 2 is asectional elevation of the same, the cuttingplane being on line :00 onFig. Fig. 3 isa front elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a front elevationof the channel-cutting and flapturning tool and its carrying-lever. Fig.5 is an elevation of the same viewed at right angles to Fig. 4. Fig. 0is a transverse section of asole, illustrating oneform of channel; andFig. 7 is a similarscction illustrating another form of channel.

The drawings forming a part of this specification illustrate ourinvention as applied to a lock-stitch sole-sewing machine substantiallylike that shown and described in the Letters Patent No. 412,703, grantedto French and Meyer, October 8,1880; but our invention is equallyapplicable to any of the well-known wax-thread sewing-machines now ingeneral use, it only being necessary to slightly modify the form of thetool-carrying lever and the arm for operating the same to adapt them tothe different styles of machines without in the least affecting theprinciples of opera tion.

In the drawings, A is the bed-plate of the head of the machine, which isin practice mounted upon a column of suitable height. (Not shown.)

Bis the cam-shaft, which is mounted in bearings formed in the upper endsof two standards set in opposite ends of said plate A, as shown in thebefore-cited patent. The bed also has secured to the upper side thereofthe stands O, D, and E, upon which are mounted, respectively, theshuttle-race O, the feed-slide D, and the levers F, G, H, I, and J. Thestand 0 also carries the stud or, upon which is mounted theneedle-segment c, with the teeth of which the toothed segment formed onthe front end of the lever F engages to impart to said segment and theneedle a a vibratory motion about the axis of said stud, said lever Fhaving mounted upon a stud set therein a roll I), which fits into and isacted upon by the cam-path I), as described in said prior patent.

The feed-slide D has set therein a stud 0, upon which is mounted thetoothed segment 0', which carries the awl 0 to which a vibratory motionis imparted by the lever G, which has formed upon its front end atoothed segment, which engages with the awl-segment c, and has mountedupon a stud set therein the roll 0 which is fitted to and acted upon bythe cam-path (Z. (Shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.)

The lever H carries at its front end the loopspreader d and is vibratedby the facecam (1 The lever I is provided at its front end with atoothed segment, (shown only in dotted lines in Fig. 2,) that engageswith the pinion c, firmly secured upon the rear end of the shaft of theshuttle-carrier, said lever I being vibrated to impart a reciprocatingrotary n10- tion to the shuttle K by the cam-path 6', (shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2,) acting upon a roll mounted upon a stud set'therein.

The presser-foot f is secured to the lower end of the bar f, fitted to abearing in the feed-slide D and pivoted at its upper end to the frontend of the lever L, fulcrumed on said slide and provided at its rear endwith an anti-friction roll upon which the face-cam 9 acts to depress thepresser-foot, said roll being kept in contact with the mm by a spring 9.

The needle-guide h, the looper i, and the work-support j, together withall the parts heretofore described, are constructed, arranged, andoperate as shown and described in the patent before cited.

Onrchanneling device consists of a leverJ, made in two parts j and 7'adjustably secured together by the screws j 7' passing through slots 7:7c in the part j and screwing into the part 7' said lever being pivotedat 7G, to a stand secured to or formed in one piece with the presser-barf, and the lower end of the party" is provided with an oblique slide 7'to receive the channeling-tool Z, which is also adjustable laterally ofsaid lever. The upper portion of the part 7' of thelever J has formedupon its edge the cam projection j, to be acted upon by a roll m to movesaid lever in one direction around its fulcrum-pin 7a, the spring 02serving to move said lever in the opposite direction and keep thecam-edge of said lever generally in contact with the roll m. In the caseillustrated in the drawings the roll m is mounted upon a stud setin theend of the lever or arm K, which may be secured to the hub of or formedin one piece with the needle-operating lever F, as shown. Thechanneling-tool Z is provided with a cutting knife-edge 0, arrangedoblique to the surface of the work-support and made of a width equal tothe desired width of channel to be cut and with a share 0, which servesto lift and turn back the flap of leather cut under by the knife.

The tool carrying lever J is constructed substantially as shown anddescribed in the Letters Patent No. 412,188, granted Albert E. JohnsonOctober 1, 1889, only such changes being made therein as are madenecessary in order to apply it to the particular machine shown in thedrawings of this specification. In that patent the device was designedto cut a groove in a previously-channeled sole and the tool cut out asemicircular strip of leather to make room for layingaline ofloop-stitches in doing what is called fair-stitch work.

Our present invention is an inprovement upon the invention described insaid Patent No. 412,188, and is designed more especially for use onlock-stitch sewing-machines; but it can be very advantageously used onloopstitch machines.

Our invention may be used successfully upon any of the well-knownwax-thread ma chines now in use, only slight changes in the form of thetool-carrying lever and in the mounting of the truck at being necessaryto adapt it to either of said machines, which changes would not affectthe principles of operation, and hence we do not wish to be limited inour claims to its use on any particular sewing-machine.

The operation of our invention is as follows: The several parts being inthe positions shown in the drawings, and a shoe-sole being placed withits projecting edge upon the work-support 9' and with its tread-surfaceu ppermost,with the presserfoot resting thereon, if the cam-shaft berevolved in the direction indicated by the arrow 2 on Figs. 1 and 2 theawl 0 will be moved upward through the sole. The awl, its segment, andthe feedslide D are then moved toward the left of Fig 3 to feed the worka distance equal to the length of the stitch desired, the prcsserfootand the channeling-tool resting upon the work, and the work-supportyielding to relieve the pressure on the solewhile the feed is takingplace. The awl then commences to re cede and is withdrawn from the sole,and the needle is moved about the axis of its segment and descendsthrough the hole formed by the awl to receive the needle-thread, whichis laid into its barb by the looper t' in a wellknown manner. \Vhen theneedle begins to move toward the sole, the roll m begins to move upwardin contact wit-h the cam-edge of the upper arm of the lever J, and whenthe needle has passed well through the work said roll m, acting upon thelower incline of the cam projection 7' causes a movement of thechanneling-tool toward the right of Fig. 3 and the knife 0 to out ashort section of a channel in the upper or tread surface of the sole andthe share 0 to turn the flap of leather undercut by said knife upwardand backward, so as to be out of the path of the awl at its next upwardmovement. As the roll m passes over the upper incline of the camprojection 7' the spring it causes a movement of the lever J and thechanneling-tool Z in the opposite direction. The needle-thread havingbeen laid into the barb of the needle by the looper i, the motion of thelever F and arm K is reversed, the needle begins to recede, and the rollon, moving downward over the upper incline of the cam projection 7'causes the lever J to be moved about its fulcrum, so as to move thechanneling-tool Z toward the right of Fig. 3 again, and as the rollpasses down the lower incline of said projection the tool Z recedes. henthe needle is in itslowest position, the slide D, the presserfoot, andthe awl and awl-segment are returned toward the right of Fig. 3 to thepositions shown in the drawings, and when the needle is fairly withdrawnfrom the work and the stitch is completed the awl is again moved upwardthrough the sole, the work is fed toward the left of Fig. 3, the awl iswithdrawn, the needle descends through the sole, and an other section ofthe channel-flap is undercut and turned upward and backward, as beforedescribed.

By the use of our invention a great saving is made in the manufacture ofsewed boots and shoes by virtue of the fact that the whole cost ofchanneling the sole and turning back the flap as now practiced is saved,as with our device the channeling and turning back of the flap are donewhile the sole is being sewed without extra labor and at the same speedthat the sewing alone can be done. The channeling-tool shown in thedrawings shows its cutting-blade inclined, so as to cut an incisionoblique to the surface of the sole, (see Fig. 6;) but for some kinds ofwork we make said blade so as to make an angular incision the main bodyof which is parallel to the tread-surface of the sole, as shown in Fig.7

The lever J is so arranged and operated that the cutting action of thechanneling-tool takes place when the needle is in the work and justbefore it completes its downward stroke; but this is not absolutelyessential, as it may take place earlier in the downward stroke of theneedle or during the upward and rearward stroke of the needle, ifdesired; but we prefer to do the cutting duringthe last part of thedownward movement of the needle or during the first part of the upwardmovement of the needle.

The roll m maybe mounted on or connected to any other moving part of themachine that will give the desi ed movement at the right time.

It is very necessary that the channelingtool should have a reciprocatingor vibratory movement given thereto, in order that it may be lifted withthe presser-foot when the awl and presser-foot are moved back or towardthe right of Fig. 3 after feeding the work to the left without causinginjury to the flap which has been out under by the cuttingblade, whichwould necessarily be the case if it were lifted without being moved backafter cutting a section of the channel.

lVe are aware that attachments have been applied to sewing machines forcutting a groove in the surface of the sole orin the bottom of apreviously-formed channel at the same time that the sewing is being doneby cutting out a portion of the stock, which is entirely removed anddiscarded as waste material. We are also aware that attachments havebeen used on sewing-machines for cutting an incision in the sole atright angles to its outer or inner surface without removing any stock orturning up any flap, and also that machines have been made for cuttingan incision under a portion of the material of the sole to form a flapand. pricking said flap to determine where the awl or needle shall beinserted in sewing the welt to the inner sole by hand, and hence we makeno claim to any of these devices; but we are not aware that prior to ourinvention an attachment had been used on a sewing-machine adapted to cutan incision under a portion of the stock of the outer sole just inadvance of theneedle which forms the stitch, and at the same time toraise and turn back the portion of the sole so out under, so that theneedle and awl can perform their function of forming a stitch withoutinjury to the flap, which is to be subsequently turned down over theseam to hide it from view.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is-

1. In combination with the stitch-forming and work-feeding mechanisms ofa sewingmachine, a channel forming tool provided with a knife-edgeadapted to cut an incision beneath a portion of the stock of the sole,and a share or inclined projection in the shank of said tool in suitableproximity to said cuttingedge to'raise and turn back the flap of stockso out under, said tool being constructed and arranged to operate uponthe sole or other article being sewed just in advance of the needle andawl and cutand turn up a short section of the channel-flap during theformation of each stitch of a line of sewing.

2. The eombination,with the stitch-forming and work-feeding mechanismsof a sewingmachine, of the tool Z, provided with the cutting-knife 0 andthe flap-turnin g share 0, formed upon the shank of said tool insuitable proximity to the cuttingedge of said knife to raise and hold upthe flap of material out under by said knife,the lever J provided with acam-surface, and the roll m, constructed and arranged to act upon saidcam-surface to vibrate said lever during the formation of each stitch ofa line of sewing.

3. The combination,with the stitch-forming and work-feeding mechanismsof a sewing machine, of the lever J, provided with a camsurface andpivoted to and movable with the presser-foot bar, the channeling-tool l,adjustably mounted upon said lever and provided with a cuttingknife-edge to out under the flap and a share to raise and turn back saidHap, and a roll mounted upon a vibrating arm and arranged to act uponthe cam-surface of said lever J to vibrate said lever andchannelingtool.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 19th day of May, A.D. 1890.

ALBERT E. JOHNSON. CYRUS I-I. PORTER.

Witnesses:

N. G. LOMBARD, WALTER E. LOMBARD.

